Episode 168: Look at The Porgs, Artoo

Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the inarguably most anticipated genre film of 2017 (at least the most anticipated by everyone except Rob) was released last Friday, and based on the box office returns approaching half a billion dollars in four days, it was beloved by nearly everyone on the planet, yes?

Yeah, apparently not. It seems that a movie that takes many of the beats that you’d expect from a Star Wars movie and deliberately tries to do something different with them isn’t for everybody. It’s an interesting popular reaction to a film that is almost universally beloved by professional reviewers. Which we at Crisis At Infinite Midlives are most assuredly not.

So we brought in some help to talk about The Last Jedi, and when it comes to dissecting what works and what doesn’t in a movie marketed largely to young people who are serious about their genre properties, we figured: who better than a pile of stand-up comedians all approaching, if not firmly ensconced, in middle age?

Se we are joined by Boston comedian Greg Boggis and New York comics Benari Poulten and Ross Garmil, who are not only funny people but hardcore genre geeks, to discuss The Last Jedi. We hit everything from the coolest moments, to the character arcs that are more satisfying than those in The Force Awakens, to the subtextual political statements made in the film, to the possible intoxicating properties of the green milk and flora of Ahch-To, to the crippling mental affliction that might be cursing one of the most beloved characters in the franchise. Which is funnier than it sounds.

This is one of the funniest, yest most interesting, episodes we’ve done in a while. However: be warned: this show contains extensive spoilers for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. So if you haven’t seen the movie yet, hi! Nice to meet you! Apparently you’re the one!